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Fonda – Better Days

Fonda‘s first recording in eight years is refreshing. This description might confuse some because the work on their latest EP, Better Days, is a logical extension of the indie pop sound they produced in the late 90’s/early 00’s on The Invisible Girl (1999), The Strange and The Familiar (2001), and the excellent, Catching Up To The Future (2003).

The truth is that no one makes indie pop like this anymore. Now, it seems that we’re inundated with cutesy bedroom albums or retro chic efforts heavy with reverb and reminiscent of The Shangri-La’s. Better Days, connects the work of early shoegazers and Manchester acts of the late 80’s and early 90’s to the current era. Fonda filled that niche briefly, and then seemingly vaporized. Eight years later, Emily Cook and David Klotz resurface without missing a beat.

Sometimes you gotta scratch that itch, and Better Days proves to be a delightful five-track salve. The title track opens with a cascade of majestic guitar chords reminiscent of mid-90’s Doves. A breezy summer sound masks the tortured uncertainty of A Love That Won’t Let You Go. Klotz takes the lead on In the Coach Station Light, a dreamy, yearning track that causes visions of Andie Walsh to appear. The album closes by contrasting the bright indie pop of Summertime Flight to the punky edge of My Heart is Dancing.

In the end, Fonda comes back to give us a French-sized portion of sorbet that whets the palate, but leaves us slobbering like Pavlov’s pooch.